The Internet provides vast information resources, such as electronic repositories of information, electronic services, and the like. As a result, people commonly use such information resources as part of their daily lives. Employees of an organization, for example, may visit various websites to obtain information relevant to performance of their duties. A programmer may use the Internet to research various programming tools, techniques, and the like. Others may use the Internet to research various business prospects or to otherwise obtain information in furtherance of one or more business and/or personal goals. One of the most effective ways of obtaining relevant information is to utilize a search engine. Users may enter search queries that are processed by the search engine to provide a list of search results that, according to complex search engine computer systems, have been determined to be relevant to the queries.
While search engines provide a useful tool enabling effective information retrieval, search engines are not without their disadvantages. For example, from the perspectives of the users entering search queries, search engines are usually operated by third parties. As a result, third parties operating search engines are privy to the queries that are made. Further, search engines often collect large amounts of information regarding the queries that were submitted for the purpose of improving their own operations, such as by serving more relevant advertisements, thereby increasing revenue. In some instances, access to information collected by search engines can have adverse consequences. For instance, employees of an organization may be careful about disclosing confidential information, carefully submitting search queries that do not themselves contain anything confidential. However, even if each query itself is innocuous, aggregated information may inadvertently reveal information that was intended to be confidential. For instance, search queries, regarding a particular technology, that originate from a particular organization, may, in aggregate, indicate which tools the organization is using to accomplish certain results. Such information may be intended by the organization to be maintained as a trade secret.